1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to soldering and desoldering devices and in particular to apparatus including a general purpose desolderer and means for converting the general purpose desolderer to either a soldering iron or a special purpose desolderer.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
There are many instances when a repairman of electronic devices must both desolder and solder various connections in the circuitry being repaired. Conventionally, separate devices are employed to effect these two functions. However, in many situations, it is desirable to reduce the number of tools needed to effect the repairs. For example, a home TV repairman would preferably make the needed repairs with but a single tool. This not only reduces the number of tools to be transported but also reduces the number of tools that have to be introduced into the working space which may at times be quite small.
It is heretofore known to provide soldering irons which may be converted to desoldering devices. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,609,778; 3,163,145; 3,245,598; 3,259,293 and 3,970,234. Some of these approaches have provided fairly effective solutions to the above discussed problem. However, whenever a soldering iron is converted to a desolderer, a bifurcated path is established wherein the soldering function is implemented through one path and the desoldering function is implemented through the other path. In other words, a desoldering device is attached to the soldering iron, the purpose of the iron being to heat the desoldering tip whereby the molten solder can be sucked into a collection chamber. The heat from the soldering iron is applied through one of the above-mentioned parts and the molten solder is sucked through the other of the paths where the solder collection chamber is disposed outside the handle of the soldering iron. Hence, there is a tendency for the above structure to be unwieldy and difficult to insert into small working spaces.